As soon as we were down from the high Sierra, I was on the phone recommending the workshop! What a wonderful package it was - stunning scenery, great company, great food and tons of expertise, well delivered by Andy and Marc. Opened up a new chapter in my photography.

Itinerary and General Information

October 6, 2016 - VenicePlan your flight to arrive in Venice midday.

Evening: meeting and greetings at around 3:00 pm at our hotel. Introduction to the workshop, presentation of the daily schedule and the technical and artistic goals of each day.Sunset : from Riva degli Schiavoni, the large footpath along the basin of San Marco. Dinner afterwards.Night: if it's not too cold and the weather is favourable, we could spend about a hour taking night pictures either at Rialto Bridge or San Marco square

October 7, 2016 - Venice

Meeting at 6:30 am at The Molo, the part of Riva degli Schiavoni that lies beside La Piazzetta and Doge's Palace.Twilight shoot from The Molo, we will be photographing the swinging gondolas at The Molo as well as the city lights at San Marco Square and Riva degli Schiavoni, as we wait for the sun to rise.Sunrise shoot at Riva degli Schiavoni, we will photograph the sun rising behind San Giorgio Maggiore, with San Marco Square, Doge’s Palace and gondolas in the foreground.

Morning: we will have breakfast at around 9:00 am either back at the hotel or at some of the many small restaurants in Venice, and then we will take a walk onthe Calles and Canals surrounding San Marco's square, photographingsome of the most famous landmarks of the Serenissima (San Marco Cathedral and Bell Tower, Doge’s Palace, Biblioteca Marciana). We will also look for small, intimate subjects such as architectural elements, pavements paths and textures, shop windows, friezes, building facades and more. Of course, if we have acqua alta, the high tide that occasionallyfloods many areas of Venice - and particularly San Marco - we will focus and spend more time on this amazing phenomenon, as San Marco square is simply gorgeous with acqua alta and the related reflections.

Afternoon and sunset: we will have a quick lunch at a trattoria, and then we will get back to Riva degli Schiavoni for taking the vaporetto nr. 2 (water bus) to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. We will spend the rest of the day visiting the small island and the cathedral, we will go atop the bell tower from where we will enjoy an unobstructed view of the whole city, and thenwe will shoot the warm light of sunset gently tinging with reds and oranges the whole skyline of Venice from the wonderful vantage point provided by the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Dinner follows.

Night: as an option, we could still shoot approximately a hour after dinner, either at the Accademia bridge or Riva degli Schiavoni

Sunrise shoot from Punta della Dogana. We will photograph the sun rising behind the island of Giudecca and San Giorgio, with the churches of Redentore and San Giorgio in the background. This is the place where Charles Ray's statue "boy with frog" was until last year when it's been removed. We will photograph the sun rising over the San Marco Basin and behind San Giorgio Maggiore, with the old-style lamppost that has replaced the statue in the foreground.

Morning: we will have breakfast at around 8:30 am at the hotel, then we will leave Venice and head to the Dolomites. We will drive north on the motorway A27 and then on state roads, heading to San Martino di Castrozza in the province of Trento. We will have lunch in San Martino.

Afternoon: After lunch, we will take the road from San Martino that climbs up to Passo Rolle, a high altitude pass linking the valley of Primiero with the Fiemme Valley. This pass is a wonderful viewpoint on the group of the Pale di San Martino, one of the most famous massif of the Western Dolomites. We will shoot in this area for the rest of the day, waiting for the sunset in val Venegia, a wonderful, enchanted valley just below the pass.

Evening: After sunset, we will get back to the cars and drive to Carezza,where we will have dinner and spend the night.

Sunrise shoot at Carezza lake. The Lake of Carezza is a small alpine lake completely surrounded by a wonderful forest of pines and larches, and it's one of the best locations for photographing the Latemar and Catenaccio groups at sunrise or sunset. We will then get back to the hotel for breakfast.

Morning: After breakfast, we will takethe car and drive in the Fassa valley up to Canazei and from there up to the Sella pass, one of the most important passes of the Dolomites, linking the Fassa Valley to the Gardena Valley. Along the road that climbs up to the pass with sharp hairpin turns, there are many wonderful view points on some of the most famous groups of the Dolomites, such as the Marmolada, the Sella Towers, Sasso Lungo and Sasso Piatto group, Odle range, etc. We will spend the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon shooting at this location. At around 2 pm we will head back to the cars and from the Sella pass we will drive to the Funes valley, where we will spend the rest of the day.

Sunset: We will wait for sunset at the famous Sankt Johann in Ranui's church in the small hamlet of Santa Magdalena, with the jagged peaks of the Odle range in the background. We will stay overnight at a hotel in Funes.

Sunrise: We will wake at around 5:00 am, pack up and head to the Erbe Pass, a high altitude road pass linking the Funes Valley to the Badia Valley. We will photograph here at sunrise the amazing jagged peaks of the Sass de Putia (Peitlerkofel) group.

Morning: After the sunrise shoot, we will drive down to Badia Valley and we will stop in the small town of Badia, where we will have breakfast. We will also buy here sandwiches for lunch.Rest of the day: After breakfast, we will keep driving south in the Badia Valley and we will stop at the rifugio Capanna Alpina at the entrance of the Fanes, Valley, a side valley of the Badia valley. From here, with an easy trek of about 2 hours one way, 6 kms long and 400 mts of elevation gain (4 miles and 1200 ft) we will reach the enchanted plateau of Malga di Fanes, a marvelous location in the centre of the Lagazuoi group, with small lakes, streams, prairies and amazing peaks such as the Conturines range, Lagazuoi and Piz Taibon. After our picnic lunch, we will get back to the car, and we will head to our hotel in Cortina.

Sunset shoot: We will leave the hotel at around 4:30 pm, heading to Antorno Lake, a small alpine lake surrounded by a beautiful evergreen forest, where we will photograph the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Drei Zinnen), probably the most famous massif of the Dolomites, shining in the pink light of the setting sun, and reflected in the calm waters of the lake.

Sunrise: We will wake at around 5:30 am, and will drive to Landro Lake. Lake Landro is a small lake in the Alta Pusteria valley, and it's the best location for photographing the Cristallo group at sunrise.

Morning: After the sunrise shoot, we will get back to the hotel for breakfast.

Rest of the day: After breakfast, we will drive up to the Rifugio Auronzo, a mountain hut at 2300 mts of altitude, lying in the prairies at the foot of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo Group. From the prairies surrounding the rifugio it is possible to enjoy a 180° unobstructed view on some of the most beautiful massifs of the Ampezzo Dolomites, such as Cadini di Misurina, Cristallo, Mount Piana, Croda Rossa d'Ampezzo. We will shoot from this location for the rest of the morning and then, after a picnic with our packed lunch, we will head to the Rifugio Locatelli, reachable with an easy trek of about 4 kms and 150 meters of elevation gain. We will spend the rest of the day photographing the Tre Cime di Lavaredo from this very iconic location.

October 12, 2016 - Western DolomitesCinque Torri - Farewell

Sunrise: We will wake at around 5:15 am, and will drive to the Rifugio Scoiattoli at the feet of the Cinque Torri group. We will shoot the sun rising on the Tofane and Lastoi de Formin groups. We will then spend approximately one more hour for visiting and photographing the trenches and the other vestiges of the World War I, dug in 1915 by the Italian and the Austro-Hungarian troops all over this area.

Morning: After the sunrise shoot, we will get back to the hotel for breakfast, at around 10:00 am.

End of the workshop: at around 11:00 am. Flights home from Venice Airport can be anytime after 4:00 pm.

What’s Included

All meals and soft drinks during workshop

Double occupancy lodging (Single rooming available)

All transportation during the workshop

Photographic guiding and instruction from 2 pros

Image reviews and post-processing as time allows

Inspiration, fun and a great time!

What’s Not Included?

International air travel. Travel and cancellation insurance. Alcoholic beverages. Items of a personal nature. Anything not specifically listed as included.

Payment Terms

Your deposit of $2,000 USD will hold your space in this workshop. The balance of $2,995 USD will be due not later than July 15, 2016. All of our standard terms and conditions apply.

Additional Information

As of July 2, 2016 this workshop is sold out. Please contact us to be on a waiting list, and check out our other workshops.

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Muench Workshops offers personal instruction and an all-inclusive experience so you can focus on your photography. Founded in 2007, we collaborate with the best pros and local guides to offer the ultimate learning environment for landscape and wildlife photographers, so you can best capture our beautiful planet.